| Dr. Caligari | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen Sayadian |
| Written by | Stephen Sayadian Jerry Stahl |
| Produced by | Joseph F. Robertson |
| Starring | Madeleine Reynal |
| Cinematography | Ladi von Jansky |
| Edited by | G. Martin Steiner |
| Music by | Mitchell Froom |
| Distributed by | Manley Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | <$500,000[1] |
Dr. Caligari is a 1989 Americanavant-gardehorrorerotic film co-written and directed byStephen Sayadian and starring Madeleine Reynal, Laura Albert, Gene Zerna, David Parry,Fox Harris and Jennifer Balgobin.[2] It is a quasi-sequel to the 1920 filmThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.[citation needed] The film details a disturbed doctor (the granddaughter of the original Dr. Caligari) and her illegal experiments on her patients.
Originally and briefly billed asDr. Caligari 3000 when it debuted at select theaters in 1989, the film promptly faded into obscurity. Since it was released onVHS and limitedBetamax format, the title has beenDr. Caligari. The film is considered acult classic and has been shown as a "midnight movie" at various times.[3]
In the film, Dr. Caligari conductsmindswapping experiments on unwilling mental patients, in an attempt to cure them. She succeeds only in transferring certain mental conditions and character traits from one person to others. The main themes explored in these experiments arehuman cannibalism,nymphomania, andtransvestism.
The main plot involves Dr. Caligari's experiments with her patients at the C.I.A. (Caligari Insane Asylum), where she transfers glandular brain fluids from one patient to another. Two of her main patients, Mr. Pratt, a cannibalistic serial killer, and Mrs. Van Houten, anymphomanical housewife, are the primary subjects of hermindswapping. Mrs. Van Houten becomes the cannibal and Mr. Pratt the nymphomaniac, although they seem to still retain some elements of themselves as well. Apparently, Caligari's unconventional idea is to cure people by introducing equally opposite traits to balance out disturbed minds, but this is never explicitly stated in the film.
Several other doctors, a married couple (Mr. and Mrs. Lodger) become concerned with Caligari's experiments and approach Mrs. Lodger's father, Dr. Avol, who confronts Caligari only to fall victim to her mindswapping and receive an injection of Mrs. Van Houten's brain fluid, turning him into atransvestite nymphomaniac.
Sex is a prominent theme throughout the movie, especially for Mrs. Van Houten, who appears topless and performs masturbation at several points, but there are no hardcore scenes, as this was released as an R-rated feature. By the end of the film, Mrs. Van Houten has injected Dr. Caligari with her own nymphomaniacal brain fluid and herself with Caligari's ancestor's (the original Dr. Caligari fromThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari); thus the patient becomes the doctor, the doctor becomes the patient and the inmates are left to run the asylum.
Producer Gerald Steiner approachedStephen Sayadian about doing a modern update ofThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as the film was in the public domain and Steiner thought the unusual camera angles Sayadian utilized in his filmNursery Crimes would make Sayadian an ideal choice for director.[1] Sayadian liked the idea shooting only interiors and working with theexpressionist style but also making the film his own, in particular giving the film overtS&M overtones and changing Dr. Caligari from a little old man to an intense femaleDominatrix.[1] Sayadin said when making the film he was trying to play towards themidnight movie audience rather than a more conventional horror film.[1]
Sayadian shot the film during the1988 Writers Guild of America strike using only interiors and due to the strike the production was able to use many production resources around theLos Angeles area that otherwise wouldn't have been available due to the work stoppage caused by the strike.[1]
Dr. Caligari was shown at theToronto Festival of Festivals on August 30, 1989.[4]
From a contemporary review, "Devo." ofVariety found the film to have a "weak attempt" at "campy dialog and bizarre plot twists" and that "even discriminating cult movie mavens may sit this one out."[4]
A retrospective review from theLos Angeles Times wrote "One of the kinkiest artifacts ever to come out of Orange County has to be the movie "Dr. Caligari.""[3]
The film was released in the United States onLaserdisc byImage Entertainment. At the same time, Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment released it on VHS. Excalibur Films, despite mostly dealing withpornographic film, released it on DVD on August 23, 2002.[5] as the company was formed by the film's executive producer. In 2023,Mondo Macabro released the film as a limited edition 4K Ultra HD.[6]